SBIR-STTR Award

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), often caused by shock waves from blasts, has been called the "signature wound" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Commonly, the deleterious effects on the blast are compounded by the extra forces transmitted to the skull from the jaw through the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). In contact sports, it has been shown that mouth guards can be effective in reducing concussions and mild TBI. This proposal describes how tool., Inc., in collaboration with Dr. Robert Cantu of Boston University Medical Center and Emerson Hospital, a world-renowned authority on neurology and sports medicine, will develop an appliance to mitigate concussive forces associated with high-energy blasts. In Phase I, potential materials and relevant existing devices, particularly athletic mouth guards, will be researched for their application to a product that could be used by the military. Initial design concepts will be worked out based on this research. In the Phase I Option, more concrete models will be made as a precursor to an in-depth commercialization plan to be addressed in Phase II.

Keywords:
Mouth Guard, Traumatic Brain Injury, Tbi, Mtbi, Concussion, Blast, Temporomandibular Joint, Sports Medicine

Significant controversy exists among the scientific community and industry specialists as to whether mouth guards help mitigate concussive forces in impact events. To this end, a standardized methodology for testing mouth guard material solutions will be developed and presented to the Government. In Phase I, the benefit of employing a material solution between the upper and lower dentition in a specific blunt impact scenario was validated. This was accomplished by testing selected materials in a blunt impact scenario which was limited to a direct impact to the bottom of the chin. In Phase II, a wider range of impacts including blast events will be added to the testing scenario to examine a more generalized case. A process of design, engineering, prototyping and simulation to develop a mass-producible mouth guard product suitable for military use will also be undertaken. This product will be fine-tuned based on advanced materials and anthropomorphic research as well as results from physical and analytical testing. In addition to the military arena, such a product would have widespread suitability in various sports applications.